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To the Arter & Hadden employees:

We know you folks are feeling some degree of shock, but you need to gather your wits and act quickly. Here are a few tips from those who know what you're going through and what you might have to go through.

1. Deal with your medical coverage immediately! If your firm is closing on the 15th, you'll likely not have coverage past the end of the month, and you probably won't have COBRA. A break in what the benefits folks call "continuity of coverage" can be financially and/or medically devastating.

2. Start collecting contact info asap. Over the next few months you're going to need all the info you can get. Ideally, one among you will set up an e-mail list, so that you can all share info, job leads, ask questions, etc. Though you're spread around the country, you're going to have many common issues and problems. You need to know how to reach each other.

3. I assume A&H had some kind of 401K plan. If you were a participant, get cracking on it right away. Once a plan is headed for termination, everything gets really complicated. One, you might not be able to get your funds out as quickly as you'd like. You might not be able to count on living on those funds. And, there are big tax consequences to taking a distribution rather than rolling over into another qualified plan. If you've got a loan against your 401K account, you might be forced to pay it off or have it counted as a distribution. We don't want to scare you, but you need to deal with this immediately.

4. Just because you've given years of loyal service to the partners of A&H, don't assume that they will treat you fairly or look out for your best interests. If they do, great. But, don't count on it, and don't hold your breath waiting for them to take care of you, tell you the truth, act honorably, etc. Press for straight answers about all your issues right now: medical benefits, vested pto/vacation, retirement plan, reimbursement of expenses, severance (although it looks like they're not planning on paying you any), references, etc. Are they going to file for bankruptcy or not? You need to know how they plan on handling their wind down, closure, whatever they're going to call it. You need to know who will be authorized to deal with questions and problems after July 15th. If you don't get the answers/info you need, then think very seriously about getting legal help immediately. Yes, I know they were a swell bunch to work for, but the odds say they're going to become a bunch of greedy, arrogant weasels, and they're going to put their own interests way ahead of being fair to you. If you think it can't happen, check out Susan Beck's article, Getting the Boot, in the May American Lawyer.


5. Especially because of 4. above, keep your dignity and your humanity by caring about, reaching out to, and lending moral support to your colleagues. They will be a great source of strength to you, as you will be to them.

Know that the community of former Brobeck employees wish you all the best.